Episode 51 - A Broad Definition of Abroad

Joe said he wanted things on the theme of a year abroad. I'm not sure Randy or I gave him what he asked for, but he liked both of them anyway.

What We've Been Liking Lately

• Spotlight (Randy) (trailer)
• James White (Randy) (trailer)
• Avengers Assemble (Amy)
• Steven Universe (Amy)
• The Rest of Us Just Live Here (Joe)
• Cinderella (Joe)
  -- Check out Tom & Lorenzo's IN-DEPTH analysis of the costumes of the film. Part 1, Part 2)

Amy did a Gay Gasp when this came on the screen
when she saw Cinderella in the theater earlier this year.

And speaking of costumes, here's the blue dress worn by Helena Bonham Carter referenced by Amy specifically for its shoulder details.

From the front

From the side, where you can also see the deep dip in the back neckline.

Show Notes

Furthering the theme of "abroad," Randy recommends the last section of Paris, je t'aime, "14e arrondissement," starring the incomparable Margo Martindale and written and directed by Alexander Payne. Amy highly recommends Elaine Dundy's 1958 book The Dud Avocado.

On the Next Show

As only a true Southerner can, Amy has romantic ideas about snow and asked for a book and a movie on the topic of the white stuff that falls from the sky.

To read: Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg
To watch: The Long Kiss Goodnight starring Geena Davis, directed by Renny Harlin

Where to find the podcast

Listen At Podomatic
Subscribe and rate us at iTunes 
We are also available on the Stitcher app.

Our Twitters

• The Podcast's Own Account
• Joseph
• Amy
• Randy

Episode 49: Space Vikings!

This week we were joined by first time guest host Michael Guarnieri, editor over at The Solute. Amy asked him and Joe to recommend things that they liked better than they thought they would going into it. Joe chose the Jon Favreau film Zathura and Michael picked Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead.

What We've Been Liking Lately

• Gore Vidal's "Narrative of Empire" series (Michael)
• Bone Tomahawk (Joe)

Show Notes

• According to the Social Security Administration, Daniel was #11 in popularity for boys born in 1992. Walter was #272 for boys born in 1996.
• Guillermo Navarro was the cinematographer for Zathura
• Zathura opening credits sequence (YouTube)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture had a score by Jerry Goldsmith. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan had the score by James Horner. (I'm not sure to which one my friend was comparing the Zathura music. -- Amy)
• One of the trailers for The Peanuts used The Who's "Baba O'Riley" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVR4E6Q6u5g), another used a medley of current pop music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pCoVQDD-OY)
• Check out the sweet 1964 Mercury Comet seen in Zathura on the always redoubtable Internet Movie Car Database
• Although he had several books published under pseudonyms first, Michael Crichton's first book published under his own name was The Andromeda Strain
• Apparently that study that said half of Viking warriors were women? Uhhh, not so much. Damn. 
• Grendel was indeed written by John Gardner

On the Next Show

Randy's back, BABY! And appropriately enough, he's chosen "Returning" as the theme. Joe went with Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain, so Amy went all girly and retaliated with the Sandra Bullock vehicle Hope Floats.

Where to find the podcast

Listen At Podomatic
Subscribe and rate us at iTunes 
We are also available on the Stitcher app.

Our Twitters

• The Podcast's Own Account
• Joseph
• Amy
• Michael

PS - In case you need it after hearing the exit music for this episode

Episode 48 - Halloween

Joe chose Halloween as our theme and Amy chose a scary movie! For real! Peter Jackson's The Frighteners. Guest host Matt Marcotte selected Elna Baker's memoir The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance. 

What We've Been Liking Lately

• Big Hero 6 (Matt)
• Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy (Amy)
• Grimm (Amy)
• We Are Still Here (Joe)
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Joe)
• Ponyo (Joe)

Show Notes

• Deadpool currently has a release date of February 12, 2016 (Happy Valentine's Day!)
• Zombi 2 by Lucio Fulci is the film Joe discusses in his recommendation of We Are Still Here
• If you want your very own signed first edition of Furiously Happy and are not lucky enough to live near a bookshop that has some, Amy's favorite local bookstore, Avid Bookshop, is happy to deliver anywhere in the country.
• The Frighteners was not Weta's first film. That honor goes to Peter Jackson's previous feature film Heavenly Creatures. Their first credited work on imdb is for the television show Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. However, their own site lists works as far back as a Ray Bradbury Theatre episode from 1987, although it doesn't specify in what capacity Weta was involved. 
• Andie MacDowell was actually born in South Carolina, not North Carolina. Her family did have a summer home in North Carolina when she was growing up. She currently resides in California. 
• Here is information from the Pew Forum about religious affiliation in Chicago. If you're Team Joe, you'll note that Catholicism is the most represented denomination. If you're Team Amy, you'll note that non-Catholic Christians outnumber Catholics. And that only 1 in 3 Chicagoans identify as Catholic. Choose your side and show your work in the comments.
• Rapture Practice by Aaron Hartzler is a book similar to Baker's that Matt also recommends
• Wookey, England
• Listen to Elna Baker tell her FAO Schwarz story about the baby dolls

On the Next Show

Amy went with the simple theme, "I Liked It Better Than I Thought I Would. Way Better." Guest host Michael Guarnieri is having us read Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead (later made into the movie The 13th Warrior). Joe's having us watch Jon Favreau's Zathura (which is streaming on US Netflix).

Where to find the podcast

Listen At Podomatic
Subscribe and rate us at iTunes 
We are also available on the Stitcher app.

Our Twitters

• The Podcast's Own Account
• Joseph
• Amy
• Matt

Episode 47 - Conspicuous Consumption

Guest host Diane Trap chose our theme this week. Joe picked the documentary "Queen of Versailles" for us to watch and Amy went with Scruples by Judith Krantz for the book.

What We've Been Liking Lately

• The Met Opera simulcast (Diane)
• Brooklyn 99 and Brooklyn 99 gif sets on Tumblr (Amy)
• "Slow West" (Joe)
• Inspector Maigret mystery novels (Joe)
• 
  

Show Notes

• Gladys Kravitz was the nosy neighbor on Bewitched. Amy incorrectly identified her as "Edna Krabapple" despite (or because of) having only ever seen one episode of "The Simpsons."
• David Siegel tells his employees to vote for Romney
• "Wife Swap" episode featuring the Siegels
• Jackie Collins's first novel The World Is Full of Married Men was published in 1968. The Stud, her second novel, came the next year. (Pun FULLY intended.) The Bitch was a sequel to The Stud. The later series Amy was thinking of is the "Lucky Santangelo" series, which includes, as its seventh entry, Poor Little Bitch Girl.
• It was Barbara Cartland who called The World Is Full of Married Men "nasty, filthy and disgusting."
• Judith Krantz's autobiography is Sex and Shopping: The Confessions of a Nice Jewish Girl
• Despite owning a pair of underpants depicting Felix the Cat, Amy misidentified him as the subject of Steve Krantz's X-rated animated film. That was Fritz the Cat, based on the Robert Crumb creation. 
• Clive James's review of Krantz's later novel Princess Daisy.
• AIDS was first clinically observed in 1981 in the United States.
  

On the Next Show

Joe's chosen "Halloween" as his theme. And to that end, Amy has chosen Peter Jackson's horror comedy "The Frighteners." Guest host Matt Marcotte is picking the much less scary (but still funny) memoir The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker. 

Where to find the podcast

Listen At Podomatic
Subscribe and rate us at iTunes 
We are also available on the Stitcher app.

Our Twitters

• The Podcast's Own Account
• Joseph
• Amy
• Diane

Diane Is an Amazing Knitter

Guest host Diane is quite the knitter. If you're into that sort of thing, she's PegofTilling on Ravelry

...

. 

Episode 46 - Marching To Our Own Drum

Amy asked for College themed entertainment this week, so special guest Becca Gross chose the 2002 film Drumline while Joseph went with the Pamela Dean novel Tam Lin.

Quiz Time - Were The Hell Are We, Anyway?

Joe befuddles Amy and Randy with questions about fictional towns and cities in movies, books and TV.

Where to find the podcast

Listen At Podomatic

Subscribe and rate us at iTunes 

We are also available on the Stitcher app.

Our Twitters:

The Podcast's Own Account

Joseph

Amy

Randy

Episode 45 - Never Give Up, Never Surrender

Joe asked for variations on the theme "Let's get the band back together." Amy and Randy both went with metaphorical bands rather than actual ones. Randy picked an old favorite - Galaxy Quest and Amy picked an old-but-new-to-us Donald E. Westlake book: The Hot Rock.

Show notes

What We're Into Lately:

Amy - Inspector George Gently (available streaming on Netflix and Acorn) and The Brokenwood Mysteries (streaming on Acorn)

Randy - Rectify 

Joe - Watership Down, now available as a Criterion Blu-Ray

• The entire list of Dortmunder books
• Trailer for the film adaptation of The Hot Rock
• The Friends of Eddie Coyle
• Yes, it's true - Enrico Colantoni played René Angélil, husband to Celine Dion, in a tv biopic
• Kathy Griffin saying the names "Celine Dion" and "René Angélil"
• More .wav clips from Galaxy Quest

Music

Intro: "Across the Atlantic" - The Budos Band (YouTube)
Outro: "Galaxy Quest - Main Theme" - The City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Next Episode

We're meeting up in Chicago in a few weeks to record our first ever live episode (a quiz, but still). So Amy chose "Chicago" as our next theme. Randy selected Michael Mann's Thief and Joe picked Joe Meno's Hairstyles of the Damned.

Where to find the podcast

Listen At Podomatic

Subscribe and rate us at iTunes 

We are also available on the Stitcher app.

Our Twitters:

The Podcast's Own Account

Joseph

Amy

Randy